Ryan J. Pemberton left a career in marketing and public relations to write about life and faith and God. He has degrees in theology from Duke Divinity School and Oxford University, where he lived in C. S. Lewis's former home, served as President of the Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society, and co-founded the Oxford Open Forum, an interreligious dialogue group. He has written for Duke University Chapel, Bible Study Magazine, and Relevant magazine. He serves on the Board of Directors for Jesus' Economy, an international non-profit organization that creates jobs and churches in the developing world. Ryan currently lives in California with his wife, daughter, and son.

“Ryan perfectly captures the roller coaster of mixed emotions you really experience when you dare to answer one of God’s big questions for your life, ‘What if?’ There’s an adventure hidden in this book and one inside you too. Read Ryan’s words to find both.”

—Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author of Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average & Do Work that Matters

“With a poignant and unflinching voice, Ryan Pemberton brings a fresh perspective to the winding and often complex journey of faith. His writing brings to mind the work of Donald Miller, mixed with the vulnerability of my favorite stories from NPR’s “This American Life.” Pemberton is a thinking Christian who does not shy away from thought provoking questions about faith. He is a writer to watch and I eagerly await his next work. Quietly powerful and inspiring, Called: My Journey To C. S. Lewis’s House and Back Again is a memoir that is not to be missed.”

—Michael Morris, author of Man in the Blue Moon, Slow Way Home, and A Place Called Wiregrass

“In this finely written memoir, Ryan Pemberton takes us into the halls and streets and stories of magical, historic Oxford, and into the life and home of its renowned thinker-poet C. S. Lewis. As we follow Ryan on his quest to find what it means to be called, with all the excitement and doubt and second-guessing that entails, we are the ones who make the discovery that in the end, calling isn’t so much about a grand task or an exciting journey, but about listening, trust, and deep surrender.”

“Oxford. C. S. Lewis. Living at the Kilns. An aspiring writer. A young marriage. A life of faith. These are the ingredients of what proved to be a most enjoyable memoir. Ryan Pemberton takes you right into Oxford’s stately halls, he opens up doors to occasional C. S. Lewis tidbits that even many seasoned scholars haven’t seen, and he weaves a tale of faith, love, hope and life to create a delightful and entertaining journey.”